The big news is that Captain Sir Tom has died of COVID. Everybody is sad. Everybody is paying respects.
But slipped in to one of those reports was the news that he had recently been on a bucket list holiday to Barbados.
Of course Piers Morgan, Philip Schofield and much of the right of centre press lambasted the people that brought this up – it obviously had nothing to do with him getting ill. This is probably the case, there is probably no link. It was more likely linked to a hospital visit after the trip.
The same people that say the New Zealand closed borders approach is good say Captain Tom had every right to travel to Barbados. But some go further – some of the news reports made me sit up and think “he probably wasn’t breaking the law but even if he did who can blame him?” That is a pretty big get out of jail free card being dealt.
And look at one other fact – Barbados had a very low number of infections – until just after that flight from the UK arrived. And within two weeks their number of total infections jumped about 150% (more people were infected in those two weeks than had been during the whole pandemic to that point). Half of the deaths in Barbados have occurred since that flight landed.
But then I understand a 100 year old with a bucket list – I even understand an 80 year old with a bucket list. Why shouldn’t they break cover and have one last fling? Why shouldn’t they see that great grandchild for the first and maybe last time?
That balance between letting people live and protecting each other is the difficult decision that we have to make. And really, when it comes down to it, it is up to us to make that decision, not some remote government. And it certainly should not be up to a newspaper to decide.
That trip to Barbados ended around the same time Boris was accused of cycling 7 miles to exercise. Double standard?